TODAY

A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract. The first official bank holidays were the four days named in the Bank Holidays Act 1871, but today the term is colloquially used for public holidays which are not officially bank holidays, for example Good Friday and Christmas Day.

The very first Bank Holiday began in 1781 when banker Henry James Earl of Cambleseed, controversially decided to take the first Monday in May off work, closing his bank to the public. His local competitors then followed suit, taking days off over the traditional Easter period.

In 1871, the first legislation relating to bank holidays was passed when liberal politician and Banker,Sir John Lubbock introduced the Bank Holidays Act 1871 and which specified Good Friday (Scotland), Easter Monday (England, Wales & Ireland), Whit Monday (the first Monday in May), the first Monday in August, Christmas Day (Scotland) and Boxing Day (England, Wales & Ireland) as holidays.  The act did not specify Good Friday and Christmas Day as bank holidays in England, Wales and Ireland because they were already recognised as common law holidays, and because of common observance, they became customary holidays since before records began.
 
Exactly a century after the 1871 Act, the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, which currently regulates bank holidays in the UK, was passed. The majority of the current bank holidays were specified in the 1971 Act, but New Year's Day and May Day were introduced after 1971.

From 1965 the date of the August bank holiday was changed to the end of the month. Curiously, there were a few years (e.g. 1868) when this holiday fell in September, but this no longer occurs - presumably reflecting a change in the way of defining the relevant day. The Whit Monday bank holiday was replaced by the Late Spring Bank Holiday - fixed as the last Monday in May - in 1971,

Which explains why I and so many others are not at work today.

Hurrah for bankers.........and politicians.


mp3 : Blur - Bank Holiday
mp3 : The Jam - Monday
mp3 : Pulp - Monday Morning

Sorry about the boring words today.  But at least it was al worth it for three great classic British bands.